IdiomFood & Drink
French
FrenchLa substantifique moelle
Meaning: The essential substance of something, reached only by real effort.
Literally: The substantific marrow
Example: “Le professeur nous a appris à extraire la substantifique moelle d'un texte.” — The teacher taught us to get to the nitty-gritty of a text.
English equivalent: The nitty-gritty
Equivalents in other languages
English: the nitty-gritty
Origin: From Rabelais's prologue to Gargantua, where the reader is told to be like a dog cracking a bone for the marrow inside. Rabelais coined substantifique, and it has never had another use.
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